


Dawn

by deltachye



Series: Dusk to Dawn [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, One Shot Collection, Parenthood, Post-Chapter 13, Reader-Insert, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deltachye/pseuds/deltachye
Summary: [reader x various]"We have to talk."
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Reader, Ignis Scientia/Reader, Prompto Argentum/Reader
Series: Dusk to Dawn [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835791
Kudos: 30





	Dawn

He knew she was asleep in her seat by the soft, rhythmic breathing the moment he stepped inside. Taking extra care to be quiet, he padded over, brushing the backs of his fingers over her hair. He didn’t think it’d actually wake her up since she seemed to be in a deep sleep, but her eyelashes fluttered against his skin, and she slowly raised her head.

“You’re back,” she mumbled hoarsely. The sound of her voice alone set him at ease and he nodded in response, pressing his palm to the impossibly warm skin of her cheek.

“I’m home. Were you waiting for me?”

“Yeah.” She cleared her throat and sat up straighter, taking his hand in hers and pulling it away from her to his surprise. She held it in her lap for a moment before letting go. The absence felt odd, like he was reaching out for something not there. His hand fell back to his side, lonely. With an awkward cough, she said, strained, “so, listen… I have something to tell you.”

His good mood died in his chest. Her voice was serious, laden with hesitance. Something was wrong.

“Okay.” Even though he was dead tired and running on fumes alone, he sat beside her and opened his posture to her. The tension felt electric in the air, singing his nerves as he waited for her to find the words. She wasn’t the type to lead him on, so the fact that she was struggling meant it was more serious than he thought.

“Gods, I… I had it all planned out in my head, but now that you’re actually here…” She laughed darkly. His concern was eating him alive, but he took care not to show it, reaching forwards to tuck her hands into his. They were clammy, oddly cold against his, and he tried to warm them between his own.

“Take your time, love. I’m listening.”

“Yeah, okay.” She inhaled sharply, holding the breath at the top of her lungs. Her fingers twitched around his as if seeking support. In one quick exhale, she blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”

Despite his hearing having improved considerably after the loss of his sight, he felt that he didn’t hear that right. She was shaking in his touch now, trembling uncontrollably.

“You’re…” He found himself at a rare loss for words and cleared his throat. “You’re what?”

“I double—triple checked. I thought something was wrong last month when it was late, but I thought maybe it was the night and the stress and I never thought that...” Seeming to catch onto her rambling, she stopped herself with another quavering breath. With more finality, she mumbled, “I wouldn’t tell you unless I wasn’t absolutely sure.”

“...all right.” He was kicking himself for this pathetic performance, but to be fair, his world had just been blown out of the water. Pregnant. A _kid_ —now, of all times? His head was spinning, gut roiling. He felt like he was in that Altissian water again, gun shots raining down on his head as he sank ever deeper, spiralling in waves.

“Well,” he stammered out, realizing she was waiting for him to say something. His heart roared in his ears. “There’s only one path to take, isn’t there?”

The prince wouldn’t emerge from the crystal for another five years. It had been five since his absence, and already, the world has gone through varying degrees of apocalypse. Even though Ignis had been gifted with a vision into the future in the terms of ‘fair exchange’, and he knew with absolute certainty that there would be light yet, five years is a long time to live in a world fraught with danger. He couldn’t possibly bring another life into this mess until it was all resolved. It was only logical.

“No,” she replied softly, once again uprooting his entire being. “There’s two. There’s always two.”

“[Name]...” She wasn’t stupid by any means. Any argument he was thinking of, she had to have thought of herself already. He’d only just learnt the news, so who knows how long she’d been haunted by it? Floundering about didn’t become him, he knew—but quite frankly, he was lost.

“I just want you to think about it. Sleep on it. We’ll talk later.” She pulled her hands out of his numb grasp and stood. “You had a long trip, so get some rest.”

He didn’t want her to leave. He wanted to talk about it _now_ , get it sorted _at this moment_ —but she was right. This wasn’t a decision you could make rashly. It was literally a matter of life and death.

Too many emotions whirled through him as he slipped into bed beside her. It was like they all spilled from his heart into his head after lying down and he could hardly breathe. Her back was warm, facing him, hair swept behind her. His arm twitched at his side. He wanted to hold her, but something was holding him back. Disbelief, maybe? Guilt? Hope?

He heard her when she rolled over, touching his arm to see if he was awake. He lay still in a cowardly lie. She sighed, her lips brushing over his temple.

“Hey, Ignis… do you trust me?”

\---

“Come on. What are you holding?”

It didn’t take a set of working eyes to know she was getting tired of him. No matter how patient she tried to sound, there was an edge of exhaustion to her words. He wanted to throw it, gripping it so tightly in his hands it might break. He didn’t _know_ , because he couldn’t _see_. He didn’t know anything. He could barely do anything by himself anymore—what’s the bloody point?

If he could do it all over again, he knew he’d still put that ring on. He’d do it again and again without a moment of hesitation. But hells, as if the self-loathing wasn’t pitiful enough… it was that he had the others constantly worrying about him. He didn’t need to look at them to know what kind of faces they were making. He was fortunate to know that everything would be fine, _eventually, yes_ , but how do you get from here to there?

She sighed, imperceptibly quiet, but he heard it still. With a jolt he suddenly felt her warm hands slide over his, loosening his fingers on whatever container he was holding. He hadn’t realized how tense he was being.

“D’you feel this?” she asked, guiding his fingers to the bottom of the object. Her voice was strained, but she kept it calm, ignoring his foul temper. He bit his tongue. If she was keeping herself in check for his sake, he didn’t have any right to be throwing a tantrum before her.

“It’s ribbed,” he replied miserably, turning his focus back to the task at hand.

“And the top?”

He let her hands move his.

“It’s a lid.”

“Remind you of anything?”

“A spice bottle of sorts.”

“Give it a whiff.”

It didn’t have a distinctive odour like ginger or cumin, but he could feel her stare on his face. Begrudgingly, he sat, inhaling deeply. There was a faint metallic odour, sharp, and familiar. Iodine.

“It’s salt,” he realized.

“Shake some out.”

The taste of the cubic granules was of sea salt. Even though he’d been correct, he didn’t feel any better about it. [Name] took it from him before promptly replacing it with another object. They were still at it, then? Even though he wanted nothing more than to give up and curl up in bed, away from loathsome _life_ , he kept himself in his seat for her sake. She seemed to have something to say, her hands still wrapped around his.

“Hey, Ignis… do you trust me?”

The question was abrupt, but so was his answer. He didn’t hesitate; he didn’t have to. ‘Do you trust me?’ What kind of question was that? It was implicit at this point, past _trust_. It was more.

It might’ve even been love.

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“Then… I’m not going to let you give up,” she whispered, her warmth lingering over his fingers. “Not on something you love. You just need time. Just put your faith in me, and I’ll believe in you.”

 _I am not letting you give up._ She never stood still. She always moved forwards. ‘Never look back’. It’s why he respected her so greatly, loved her so deeply…

Is it really okay for him to have this? How capable was he of fatherhood? It wasn’t unheard of for people to be having children, even in this crisis. But what about _him_? Could he possibly be enough?

But in darkness, there is faith. Faith that the next day will come. There’s undeniable hope. The grit of the human lust for life. Ever since our earliest days, we have reached for the stars. It’s human nature. _Per aspera, ad astra._

“Through hardships to the stars.”

\---

“I’m sorry I can’t go with you, Noct.”

“You and Specs are really birds of a feather, huh. What are you apologizing for?”

“But it’s my duty to you—”

“No,” the prince-king interrupted, softly. “Your duty’s to Noct Jr. now.”

His son clenched the fabric at the back of his shirt at the sound of his name. Ignis tried to shoo him forwards.

“Go on,” he encouraged gently. He heard [Name] hold her arms out, beckoning. Noctis the Second was bright and joyous, even more dazzling than the starlight above, but he shrunk behind his father.

“Am I that scary looking after ten years?” Noctis drawled wryly. He knelt, and his namesake shuffled backwards a step.

“Dude, he _so_ hates you,” Prompto laughed with glee. Gladio chuckled, also. [Name] sighed to herself and went to pick him up, placing him on her waist.

“Say hello, Noct. He _may_ be scary looking, but he’s royalty, believe it or not.”

“Gee, thanks for the stamp of approval.”

“Hello Prince Noctis,” the younger Noctis warbled nervously. He supposed this reaction was in part his own fault—his stories of the sleeping prince were quite heroic, so to a child, it must’ve seemed like a legend had suddenly showed up.

“Hey, he kind of sounds like Specs.”

“I think the accent’s funny,” Prompto mused. “It’s like having a mini-Iggy.”

“You think?”

“What was his first word? _Oh, mother, may I please have some soup…_ ”

“Oh, shut up. Also, that’s a sentence.”

“No, seriously—”

For a while, everybody just talked around the fire. Noctis warmed up to the other Noctis after a while, and he couldn’t quite describe the feelings in his chest as he listened to them talk. The prince had always been good with kids, though he was shy in his liking of them. Noctis Jr. shared the same reverence for the Lucian prince he did. Like father, like son?

_I ask of you to stand by him._

“I’m really glad you got to meet him, Noct,” [Name] murmured once the hour got late and the kid had tuckered himself out into sleep. The air grew cooler with the words. That’s right. They were catching up in Hammerhead now, but after this, she’d be returning to the relative safety of Lestallum with little Noct, and they… would be bound for the Crown City.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Noctis began to rifle in his pockets for something. “Damn. Where’d I put it? I just had it, I swear.”

“You’re a mess,” he scolded out of habit. It didn’t seem like too long ago that he was harping on the prince for having loose buttons on his shirt.

“No, no, I got it. Here.” Proudly, he pulled something out, displaying it in his palm.

“Holy cheese!” Prompto exclaimed all of the sudden. “I totally forgot about that.”

“Huh. Thought you’d lost it.”

Ignis couldn’t quite tell what it was. It didn’t have that strong of a scent or a noise. Judging from everybody’s reaction, though, it seemed important.

“What is it?” [Name] asked, apparently mirroring his confusion.

“Here, Junior. Open it for your mom.”

“Okay.”

He heard her inhale sharply. Now frustrated enough to resort to begging, he turned to the nearest person.

“What is it?” he asked impatiently.

“Don’t tell me _you_ forgot, Iggy!”

“Think Altissia thoughts,” Gladio hinted gruffly. “Before things went to… you know. Crap.”

Altissia? What happened in Altissia? Before ‘you know what’. There’d been bouts of exploration, wandering water-roads and candle lit ally-ways. Was he missing something huge here?

“Daddy, it’s a ring!” Noct Jr. exclaimed, and he felt his heart jump.

“You _didn’t_ ,” he accused, whirling onto Noctis Sr. He laughed cheekily.

“What, you thought I wouldn’t notice back then? It was obvious. I knew you wanted to tell [Name], but you had a stick up your ass. Butt. Sorry.”

“You’ve been hanging onto this ever since then?” [Name] asked in muted wonder. He knew she was staring at him and felt his face start to burn.

“I—well—that is.” He cleared his throat. “My feelings for you shouldn’t be news.”

“Aw, you sap.” Gladio clapped him on the shoulder so hard he nearly crumpled into the ground. “Congrats! ‘Bout time you both tied the knot.”

“Shotgun wedding!” Prompto cheered. He sighed, but it wasn’t like he was unhappy himself. The smile that wouldn’t go away should’ve said enough.

“Seriously. Congrats, Iggy.” Noctis placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I’m proud of you.”

His heart flushed. “...thank you.”

“So, my best friend named his kid after me. What about you guys?” he accused jokingly.

“What, you want me to name a chocobo after you or something?”

“What? No. I didn’t ask you to _disrespect_ me.”

“ _Kwek_!” Noct Jr. added enthusiastically, and everybody couldn’t help but laugh. As the celebrations wound down, it came closer and closer to the eleventh hour. The minutes were passing too fast. If he could, he’d like to stay like this forever.

[Name] came up to him later, Noctis Jr. asleep in her arms. He palmed his hand through his soft hair.

“It’s a beautiful ring,” she said, but there was patent teasing behind it. He shook his head, embarrassed.

“That was a long time ago. I was younger and unsure.”

“No, it’s okay. I love it. And I get it.” She reached out, allowing him to ghost his fingers over it. The memory of staring at it in a shop window came back to mind. It was the image of classic: a gold band and simple diamond. He really hadn’t realized he’d been that obvious about it. Noct had really done him a solid—he couldn’t help but feel the boyish thrill of calling the woman he loved his wife.

“You’ll be back safe?” she breathed as he brushed his lips over the ring. It wasn’t a question, but rather a demand. He nodded resolutely, squeezing her fingers. There was too much at stake these days. Gone were the days where he could risk his life with reckless abandon. He had purpose.

“I’ll be home soon.” He kissed Noct atop his head, feeling him stir. In the midst of his nostalgia, he remembered how it felt to shake Noctis Senior’s hand for the first time. He supposed it was fortunate of him to meet two stars of the night in his short life—and to love both, as a brother, and as a father.

He couldn’t ask for more.

\---

“Mommy, what’s that?!”

“It’s the sun, my love.” She brushed hair out of his face, seeing the long gold rays gleam in Ignis’ eyes. They were bright, swimming in the viridity of young saplings sprouting from the snow of a long winter.

The dawn was bright, and welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> deltachye.tumblr.com


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